Dawn just broke through the still dark skies of Izumo, but Jeanne was already in the confession box, preparing it for the parish priest. Marco and the rest of the X Laws decided to hide her here in the chapel for the meantime as they went to the Sacred Ground to check on the sudden movement of the Great Spirits.

She was about to leave the box when she heard the door on the opposite side of the confession box swing open. She was about to leave when she curiously peered at who the early bird was on the other side of the screened window.

Her heart nearly jumped.

It was Lyserg.

"Good morning, Father," he greeted cheerfully. "I'm sorry if I will disturb you so early. I came here to confess again."

She panicked – she wanted to show herself to him and tell him that she was safe, but she knew it would only complicate things between them. Her situation was different now – she had to deal with the X-Laws.

In the end, she decided to knock twice on the wood, signifying that she acknowledges him.

"Father, I have already did the penance you told me, but still, I can't erase my desire to finish Hao Asakura. I'm sorry."

She bit her lip.

"Ah, but I did the other thing you suggested – about Jeanne. I stopped asking God why He keeps on taking away from me the ones I love. I have accepted that He has a reason for doing that. Maybe because I can't keep her safe enough, or that someone is much more worth her love than I am," continued the dowser. "Ah, but I still can't stop caring for her."

Jeanne felt her eyes shake. Lyserg…Lyserg cares for her!

"What is my penance today, Father?" he asked.

He blinked when a gloved hand shoved a rosary made of flowers to him from the opening of the window. He took it slowly. "F-For me?" he asked slowly.

He heard the two knocks on the door, meaning yes. "T-Thank you, Father." He got up and left the confession box. A minute later, Jeanne left the box too, panting. Her dream came true! She was able to hear his voice again!

"I may not be able to talk to him like before, but I'm just happy that I saw him again…even for a short while." Her hand touched her still racing heart. "Lyserg…"

"Tamao?" asked Horo Horo upon arriving home.

He was startled to see his Otoosan and Okaasan standing by Tamao's room worriedly. Upon seeing him, he saw uncertainty flicker in their eyes.

"OK, so what's with this 'freak-Horo-out-with-eerie-silence' mode, eh?" he asked, laughing nervously,

"It's your wife…she's…"

His forehead creased. "W-What's wrong with Tamao?" He entered the room before his Okaasan could stop him.

Tamao, pale and weak, was lying on the bed, unconscious.

Horo's heart dropped. "T-Tamao!"

She didn't seem to hear him, or if she did, she was too weak to acknowledge him. He didn't know for sure. He sat by her bed and clasped her hand. "Tamao!" he whispered fiercely.

"She's been sick for the past few days," said his Okaasan sadly.

"T-Then why didn't you call for me at once?" he yelled. He saw the old woman flinch, and he immediately regretted it. He had never raised his voice to anyone in the tribe yet. "I'm sorry…but why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"She didn't want us to tell you about her condition. She doesn't want you to worry anymore about her," explained the old woman.

"The hell I'll worry!" His voice rose again. "Why won't I worry about her? She's my responsibility!"

"H-Horo…"

He blinked, then instantly looked down at the prophetess. "T-Tamao?" His eyes turned angry. "Why didn't you inform me at once about your situation? You were sick, and you didn't tell me! You're unbelievable!"

"H-Horo…don't be mad…I'm sorry," she whispered, voice broken. "I'm being burdensome enough."

He sighed, exasperated. "Getting yourself sick is a burden too, didn't you even think of that?"

She bit her lip. "Gomen…"

"Is that all you can say?" he asked impatiently. "How about 'I promise to take better care of myself', huh?" He could feel the disapproving gazes of his foster parents, but he was too mad to take notice of them.

"H-Hai. I-I'll do that," she said softly.

"What is your illness anyway?" he wanted to know.

Her eyes clouded. "Iie…my body's just generally weak."

He rolled his eyes. "Great! Now you'll even want to make your sickness a damn secret! Kami-sama, what do you expect me to do for you then?"

"N-Nothing."

He took several deep breaths, then left the room.

"He was just tired from the travel," said Obaasan, gazing at her sympathetically.

She shook her head. "Iie. It's my fault- I should have taken better care of myself, just like what he said. A-And I'm just glad that he came here without…without anyone asking him to."

"He'll be in a better mood after he rests."

"H-Hai."

"I can feel the spirits around…they are all heading to the Sacred Ground to prepare for the awakening of the Great Spirits," smiled Hao as he looked at the pillar of light by the mountains. His trained, wise eyes only knew too much; the pillar of the Great Spirits was much farther than it seems.

"We have already traced the whereabouts of the foolish prophetess," reported Zinc, bowing before him.

Hao chuckled. "Ah, but I have no need for her anymore. All her predictions are rubbish anyway- I haven't even seen a trace of my brother yet. If he does appear, it would already be too late. I will already have then the power of the Great Spirits, and no one would be able to defeat me anymore."

"We believe you with all our hearts, Master Hao," said the priest solemnly.

Another chuckle from the prince. "Ah, your words are as hogwash as that of the prophetess' predictions. Time will come when you would want to rule too, and would want to dispose of me too. You will challenge me. I doubt not my words, for I have experienced that personally." He smiled bitterly. "And your own selfish ambitions are not a mystery to me anymore." Humming, he left the court priest who was staring at the ground, eyes burning.

"Nice! After he shocked us last night in the door, then leaving off to find you, we would find him asleep," said Ren, rolling his eyes.

Amidamaru was smiling from ear-to-ear. "My master is back! My master is really back!"

"Furthermore," continued the Chinese shaman. "We would find him lying against your chest."

Anna shrugged. "You talk too much, much more than a pregnant lady. Instead of blabbering there, why don't you be a gentleman and help him to his room?"

Ren's hair tip vibrated. "Nani???!!! A pregnant lady?!!!"

Pirika smoothed his hair. "There, there, Ren Tao. Aren't you used yet to Ms. Anna's way of talking?"

"Not you too!" he sighed. But he helped Yoh up, and Ryu carried the boy on his back. Anna got up and stretched.

"I told you, Mistress Anna, when my master said he would come back, he would," said the samurai spirit triumphantly.

Anna shrugged, but a small smile escaped her controlled lips.

"Mou, Mistress Anna, will you really find yourself a new bodyguard in case he didn't make it?" asked Amidamaru quietly.

She shook her head. "I can never find another one like him."

The samurai smiled. Could it be, that the itako was mellowing already?

"An idiot at my mercy, and one willing to be the scapegoat of my anger.t do you expecpan

Amidamaru groaned inwardly. He knew it was too good to be true.

Yoh's eyes slowly flapped open. The first thing he saw was the ceiling of his room he shared with Anna – the room he had not seen for three years, at least in the place where he and Shilva trained. He had to remind himself that the three-year-stay there was equivalent only to three days in the outside world.

But the last thing he remembered seeing was…

"Anna?" he croaked, forcing himself to get up.

The person he was looking for came to his sight from his side. She was sewing something. "Well, what took you so long to wake up?" she snapped.

"G-Gomen!" He placed both of his hands in a begging position above his bowed head. He then noticed that the cloth she was sewing was familiar.

"You were careless with your clothes while you were on battle," she said dully. "I took the initiative of fixing it for you."

"A-Arigatou."

"Arigatou nothing," she said coolly. "You have to prepare- both Chocolove and Ren wants to challenge you in a shaman fight." Her eyes then returned to the cloth. "And the prince of the Asakura court too."

She heard him stifle a gasp. Although she was surprised, she reminded herself that he might have just been startled by the title of the shaman he would fight with.

On the other hand, Yoh was furiously pondering on Shilva's words.

It still isn't time yet for you and your brother to meet. The Great Spirits will decide the battle for you two.

"If I didn't know you better, Yoh, I could have sworn you were actually thinking…and the only time you use your idle mind's intelligence is when you end up actually doing something…and more often than not, it's something stupid," sighed Anna.

He laughed nervously. "Iie…I just remembered something."

"It better not be another woman," she said, cheeks coloring slightly,

He blinked. "H-How would I do that? To tell you the truth, you were the first girl I've ever made contact with." The clueless Asakura had no idea of jealousy at that time.

"Just to remind you," she said, shrugging, as she continued to sew.

He went back to thinking of a way to escape Anna's order to fight his brother.

It would all be so damn easy if he told her the truth- that he too was a prince in the Asakura Court.

Dakedo…

He knew it would change everything between him and Anna. What if the girl would suddenly decide that she didn't want a prince for a bodyguard? Or if that wouldn't happen, he was sure awkwardness would happen between him and her.

No, he didn't want to risk it- their closeness. He simply couldn't.

"Ah, things will work itself out," he said aloud, grinning. What was important was he learned all he head to learn in his training with Shilva, and he survived. Now he was with Anna, and he could ask for nothing more.

"Wipe that goofy grin off your face, smart guy," she said, not looking up from her sewing work. "Don't think that I'll go easy on my own training programs just because you trained under that Indian."

"Eh?"

"Don't go complaining on me being heartless," she warned him. "I don't care, and it won't change my mind."

"It wasn't on my mind, Anna," he said patiently. "And you being heartless is a lie."

Her brow rose. "Why?"

"Because when I fell on your bosom last night, I heard it beat. It was loud and alive and warm, it was powerfully rhythmic. Something as special as that couldn't just be a figment of my imagination-it was real." He smiled at the stunned itako tenderly. "It had so much love, Anna. I was a little sleepy then, but I still could feel. Your heart is there, right where I knew it had always been the first time we met."

His words penetrated her awareness. Suddenly, she wanted to cry, get mad, and laugh at the same time. How could have he known such things? Could it be possible, that he understood her far more than she thought he did?

"Y-Your shirt." She threw his top on him, then marched out of the room, eyes welling up with tears.

On the other hand, Yoh looked at his shirt thoughtfully. He missed his chance- just when he was about to tell her the special something he feels for her.

Shilva told him that what he might say would make or break their closeness. He was afraid to risk it at first, but when he saw how lonesome Anna was awhile ago when she told him she was heartless, he had impulsively decided to tell her his feelings, even if it would mean everything between them.

The only thing important to him was to let the itako know that someone was with her and would be with her for always.

Tamao gathered her shawl and looked out at the peaceful slumbering night disturbed only by the rain. Her housemates were sound sleepers so they wouldn't notice her sneaking out. Her hand reached for the knob, and her eyes fell on the glittering ring on her finger. Automatically, her eyes fell upon the door of Horo Horo's room.

She smiled sadly as déjà vu washed all over her. It was like this when she tried to leave Horo's mansion without his permission. She was doing it again now, but this time, she knew he wouldn't stop her anymore. He wouldn't even suspect that she was up already; she knew that he knew she was too sick to move.

Partly true- her whole body feels like it would collapse anytime- but then her heart was commanding her to leave already.

"All my life, I've always been someone else's burden," she thought. "Now, I'll never be one anymore."

She knew that she wouldn't be one any longer- her days were counted, and just as her prediction she made on herself some years ago said, her very power to see the future would swallow her own chance to see hers.

I'm dying…but I'll die not being a bother to anyone, especially to the one I love the most.

She disappeared into the shadows of the night.

Horo Horo was staring at the celing, slumber proving elusive to him. He was still irritated by what happened in Tamao's room awhile ago.

"Why is she shutting me out of her life?" he grumbled. "Didn't it even occur to her that I wanted to know the things happening in her life too, at least those related to her security? She won't tell me she's sick, why she's sick, and she then say she doesn't want to be a burden? Now she's causing me insomnia! Damn!"

He turned to his side, shutting his eyes. "I came all the way here, worried about her and what does she do? She ignores my concern! All in her mind is that I'm doing this because I owe her my wealth, or that because I still need her powers. I'm not that superficial!"

"I care for her too, why can't she understand that? Kami-sama, is it a sin to slam someone's head on a concrete wall in hope of waking her up to reality?"

Suddenly, he heard a door being shut. He thought it was one of his foster parents, but he couldn't explain why he felt worry attacking him again. He got up from his bed and went to check on Tamao. He knocked twice on the door. When he didn't hear any response, he decided to open the door – she must be fast asleep.

His heart dropped down to his stomach when he saw the unslept bed and the absence of Tamao in the room.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. Without hesitation, he left the house too. "Damn you, Tamao! I'll kill you when I find you!"

Marco's face turned grim. "I think it's time to open the gates of Babylon already."

"But we're not yet sure if the Iron Maiden Jeanne has already fully recovered! She might not be able to take the torture!"

The man nodded wearily. "I know, but this is the only hope of destroying Hao Asakura. I know he already senses the activity of the Great Spirits, and if he gets the power of the King of all spirits, we would be at his mercy as he obliterates the world." He clenched his fists. "We all just have to pray for Jeanne-sama's strength."

Lyserg looked at the rosary the priest handed him awhile ago. God help him, but he couldn't stop thinking of Jeanne whenever he looks at it.

"Jeanne…I miss you…" he whispered, unaware of Ren and Ryu watching him.

Hao rode on his horse again. Opacho bothered not to ask anymore where the prince was going, especially upon seeing where the young master want- back to the woods.

He was going to visit his friend again.

Yoh looked out at the night sky from his bed, deep in thought.

Suddenly, Amidamaru appeared at his side. "Master Yoh?"

"I was just thinking…what I would do if I see my brother again. If he arrives to battle with me…" said the Asakura thoughtfully.

"Your brother?"

He nodded. "My big brother."

Amidamaru was silenced for awhile, remembering Anna's most persistent suitor. "His name is Hao Asakura, the crown prince of the Asakura court." He stated it matter-of-factly.

Yoh nodded. "I heard he's wooing Anna."

The spirit nodded.

Yoh sighed audibly, then clenched his fists. "I won't lose."

"I know you won't," said Amidamaru confidently too.

"Thanks. Your trust…it means so much to me. " Yoh grinned, then placed his arms behind his head. "Anyway…"

The two grinned like the idiots they knew they were. "…things will work themselves out!" they chorused, then burst into laughter.

Tsuzuku

**

I don't know how you guys will react with this, but hey, I think if you are curious as to how it turned out between me and my flamer, here is a short narration ^^

I emailed the girl, and I attached a really short fic that I themed in Ren/Horo fashion. I told her that I can't get it published in FF.net because it sucks and hardcore yaoi fans might just laugh at me, but I tried to write one anyway because I thought it would try to ease the tension between us.

She then IM-ed me, introducing herself as the flamer. She told me she received my email, and for some reason, she wanted to be mad at me, but at the same time, she felt so ashamed of herself. She also told me that previously, she received a one-liner email, asking why does she hate. I think that got her. She was mad at me for "killing her with kindness", but I pointed out that she is not my enemy, so why should I intend to kill her? She didn't reply. Half an hour later, she buzzed me, then began to tell me something about herself.

Apparently, Grace (her nickname) has issues with Asians in her, um, family. In school, she also have academic problems, and with Asians too. Worst, she has a problem with herself, and she's part Asian too-her mother's nationality. She hated being treated differently by other people in school so she desperately tries to fit into the crowd…something like that.

Now, as she read my omakes, she was shocked by my use of native languages in making them. For some reason, she got pissed by it. ^^;; On my couplings, she didn't like how I treated her fave characters, but she thought I would only ignore her if she requests, so she flamed me. She then read your words, (your reviews) and she couldn't understand how come I get support and friends and she doesn't when we are both…Asians. ^^;;

I gave her the best comprehension I can give because she's just thirteen. She must have a lot of things in her mind right now, but I decided not to launch anymore a lecture on culture pride. Instead, I told her that even if my feelings were hurt, and my fellow Asians too, the one worst scarred is herself. She's just like me, but she refuses to acknowledge it. I told her that she can't run away from being an Asian, and she should be thankful that she has an identity. I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there who wants to belong, but cannot.

To cut the long story short, she said she would stop flaming me. She didn't really apologize, but then, it would be irrelevant to me. I'm not the one she owes her apology to, but her Asian nationality she tried to hide. I hope you guys try to understand her too- maybe she's going through something right now, I dunno. Perhaps, what she said was just an outburst of her own frustrations, and although it's unethical to use someone else as your punch bag for your frustration, I'm still glad anyway. I was able to help unload some of her grievances.

OK, so I'm a freak for telling this to you guys. ^^ But just so you won't get so mad at her.

You guys wonder how I respond so politely – ne, it's just my mom's philosophy. She keeps on telling me that a few quiet words could soothe a beast's anger than a fierce attack. I must sound so freakingly corny now, but that's the truth ^^;; I was upset by her words at first – flames are strangers in my inbox, modesty aside- but thought that spitting back curses would do nothing productive, not to mention that it's childish.

Nweiz, that's that for this chapter. I'm sure ur all puking now, eh? Lolz I sound like a moral engine already…unusual for someone like me. Hao-sama, I think I'm mellowing na!